The present invention relates generally to a valve. More specifically, the invention is directed to an integral bi-directional flow control valve that can be used with heating and cooling equipment, such as a heat pump and air conditioning system.
A diagrammatic representation of a prior art heat pump and air conditioning system is shown in FIG. 1. The prior art system 10 includes a compressor 12, an accumulator 14 that contains a liquid refrigerant, and a reversing valve 16. An indoor coil 18 and an outdoor coil 20 are connected to the reversing valve 16 by an indoor coil line 22 and an outdoor coil line 24, respectively. The reversing valve 16 can direct the flow of liquid refrigerant from the accumulator 14 to the indoor and outdoor coils 18 and 20 as shown by the arrows. The direction of the flow of the refrigerant determines whether the system 10 is in a heating or cooling cycle.
As shown in FIG. 1, the indoor coil 18 is in communication with a first line 26 that leads to a first by-pass conduit 28 including a first check valve 30. The first line 26 also leads to a first expansion device 32 and a first filter dryer 34. Likewise, the outdoor coil 20 is in communication with a second line 36 that leads to a second by-pass conduit 38 including a second check valve 40. A second expansion device 42 and a second filter dryer 44 are in communication with the second line 36. A connection line 46 connects first line 26 with second line 36.
In the prior art system 10, the first and second by-pass conduits 28 and 38, first and second check valves 30 and 40 and first and second expansion devices 32 and 42 are all required to change the liquid refrigerant to a gas. It has been found that the inclusion of these parts adds undue cost and complexity to the system.
A heat pump and air conditioning system that includes the present invention is shown in FIG. 2. The new system 48 includes a compressor 12, an accumulator 14, a reversing valve 16, an indoor coil 18, an outdoor coil 20 and lines 22, 24, 26, 36 and 46. As shown in FIG. 2, the integral bi-directional flow control valve 50 of the present invention is in communication with line 26. An optional filter dryer 52 is in communication with line 36. A communication line 46 connects line 36 to the valve 50. As it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the present invention replaces the by-pass conduits, check valves and expansion devices of the prior art system 10 as shown in FIG. 1. This reduces the cost and greatly simplifies a heat pump and air conditioning system.